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Thursday, October 27, 2011

Who said college football was fair?

As the 2011 college football season winds down and upsets are knocking out some of the sports heads' favorites, the TV faces are scrambling to find a team to rally behind. And they seem to have chosen Stanford.

With losses by ESPN favorites Oklahoma and Wisconsin, the sports media is trying to find another team to tout. It's looking like Stanford may be their pick. They certainly don't want Number 4 Boise State, who will have spent the entire year clubbing baby seals. And they don't believe in Number 3 Oklahoma State, the only Big 12 team in the mix, nor do they believe in Number 5 Clemson.

Look for all the sports heads to start talking about how amazing that Stanford team is. If they run the table, look for them to jump Clemson, Boise State, and Oklahoma State so they can face the SEC champ.

It's happened before. Remember the 1977 season? With New Year's Day 1978 losses by Number 1 Texas and Number 2 Oklahoma, you'd figure Number 3 Alabama would slip right into the championship. But Number 5 Notre Dame, the media darling, jumped the Crimson Tide to claim the top spot.

How about the end of the 1983 season? Number 1 Nebraska and Number 2 Texas lost. Does Number 3 Auburn move to the top? Nope, Number 5 Miami does.

In 2004, Auburn was unbeaten and Number 3 behind Southern California and Oklahoma. The top two had held those spots the entire season, while Auburn opened the season at Number 18, the lowest of 5 SEC teams in the season-opening poll. Southern Cal and Oklahoma each won 2 games against ranked teams during the season, while Auburn won 4. But, being the media darlings, Southern Cal and Oklahoma played for the BCS title.

And look at the 2007 season. At Thanksgiving, Georgia was sitting at Number 4, behind Number 1 Missouri, Number 2 West Virginia, and Number 3 Ohio State. The Bulldogs needed two of those teams to lose. Missouri and West Virginia did. Does Georgia move up to Number 2? No, they drop to Number 5, after Number 7 LSU, Number 6 Virginia Tech, and Number 9 Oklahoma jump them, shutting Georgia out of the BCS championship.

So, this year, if Stanford runs the table -- and they just might; they don't play anybody worth a damn -- look for them to somehow make it to the game against the SEC champ. And then get blown out.

Would that be fair to Oklahoma State, Boise State, or Clemson? No. But who said college football was fair?